Software

The long awaited v1.1.0.02 code update is now live! So many changes in this version. Below is the changelog and the download link. Hope you enjoy!

Please also keep in mind, this update will clear your settings and audits.

As always, if you find any issues or show stopper exploits with this version, please let me know so I can get them corrected. Thank you!

v1.1.0.02 – 02/21/2018 – Scott Danesi

## Bugs Fixed ##
– Fixed issue with attract frames loading 2 times on reset. This will slightly speed up the
game over reset process. Still working on making this faster. Michael Ocean is awesome.
– Fixed small video lag at beginning of first ball in the Welcome to the Future animation.
– Removed log file issues with bonus and PNG headers (not anything anyone cares about besides me)
– Significant video performance enhancements.
– Fixed bugs in Ball Search functionality.
– Fixed hard crash when trying to do a quick restart during the bonus count.
– Fixed bug where angry player can tilt out the next player too easily.
– Cleaned up unnecessary Ballsearch log error.
– Fixed Secret Skillshot exploit.
– Fixed attract mode ballsearch so it will not keep cycling if a player is too impatient for the balls to reset and drain.
– Fixed log error when saving data files to disk.
– Fixed tilt issue where prior player tilts after bonus.
– Jackpot lightshows improved.
– Shaker now enabled and disabled properly without machine restart.
– Shaker issue when starting mystery now disables properly.
– Destroy Reactor ballsave now active when multiball is running as well.
– Fixed Avg Ball Time Calculation.
– Fixed Avg Score Calculation.
– Fixed Avg Game Time Calculation.
– Changed Coin Drop notification font.
– Updated drop target handling logic to prevent balls from getting stuck in right scoop under specific conditions.
– Fixed some other misc font issues.
– Fixed flickering GI when lane changing the skillshot.
– Fixed coin drop issue for coins with a value larger than a single credit.

## Features Added / Modifications ##
– Significant changes to asset loading resulting is quicker boot times
– Super jackpot will now add a ball into play for up to a 4 ball multiball! This also enables up to 4x playfield multipliers. Indicated with white colored flashing ball lock inserts.
– Add A Ball is limited to 1 ball added per multiball.
– Destroyed reactors now score 1 point each to store the player’s progress in the last digit of their score. Match will ignore this last digit and treat it like a 0. For example, if a player earns 100,000 points and destroys 2 reactors their score would be 100,002.
– Reworking of display animations and notifications to clean up a bunch of things.
– Lock Quickshot display and scoring updates.
– Skillshot now displays score values when awarded.
– Adjusted orbit timer from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
– Set default coil power settings to Bryan Kelly recommended settings, so you may want to update these after the update. 😀
– Bonus now includes bonus total at end of bonus count. Also new lightshow and sound for that.
– Remastered music from the Total Nuclear Annihilation Album has been updated on the game. Also other various audio has been remastered throughout the game.
– Last game scores are now saved and recalled after a hard reboot of the game on the numeric displays. This was needed in case there was a display error that requires a machine restart so the scores are preserved.
– Locking a ball now awards 20k points.
– All LED test now can stop on specific colors when pressing the enter or start button.
– Jackpot Drop Reset Seconds is now configurable in the service menu.
– Secret Skillshot now awards a default time ball save, but allows multiple saves for the entire save time. Awesome.
– Add A Ball now enables default multiball ballsave.
– Reduced overall RAM usage of PC significantly.
– Early ball save added for cashing in a ball save on an outlane.
– Added drop target test in service mode.
– Added warning message on the display if drop target error is detected by the system.
– Added Free Game Percent to Coin Op Audits.
– Upper rollovers now advance reactor value and award a reactor shot when started.
– Added a few things to Mystery Mode
– New Tilt warning sound. Replaced the public domain missile siren with custom effect.
– Mystery awards are now stackable, meaning you can light mystery more than once and the game will keep track of it for you and you can cash it is by hitting the scoop multiple times.
– Ball save timer setting added to the add-a-ball ball save (separate from the standard ball save).
– Reactor Keypad now more evenly distributes spotted targets when targeting a new reactor.
– Ball saver will now pause for mystery award and reactor starting.
– Replay award can be selectable between Credit or Extra Ball.
– Multiball ball saver will now only save the first 3 balls drained.
– Reactor inserts now glow Orange when targeted indicating Extra Ball when applicable
– Tilt switch sensitivity added to service menu.
– Last scores now show on the LCD after game over.
– Can now scroll through the individual high score categories in attract mode.
– Music Test now tests ALL reactors. 🙂

Another code update has been finalized for Total Nuclear Annihilation. This one is mostly a bug fix and enhancement update for our early operators. Enjoy!

Changelog:
v1.0.5 – 10/20/2017 – Scott Danesi WIP

## Bugs Fixed ##
– Eject scoop ballsave now not active during multiball (this was a multiball exploit)
– Adjustments to pre-loaded assets for faster booting
– Added fix for stability issues when game is played consistently for 9+ hours
– Fixed display issue which would sometimes show a black screen when reactor is started

## Features Added / Modifications ##
– Burn in test added to the service menu
– Moved Coin Op audits to their own category
– Renamed ‘Games Started’ to ‘Rounds Started’ to make it less confusing
– Added Service credits functionality by pressing the exit button in attract mode or gameplay which
is tracked separately in the coin op audits.

Hey there everyone. I am excited to share the first official bug fix code update for TNA since production has started. v1.0.3 fixes a number of little things that people have been finding with the game. Link and changelog are below.

Changelog:
v1.0.3 – 10/1/2017 – Scott Danesi

## Bugs Fixed ##
– Knocker coil strength did not go low enough
– Skeletongame framework update to fix issue with crashing after entering service mode during end of game
– Bonus multiplier lights refresh correctly now
– Left targets that light mystery award are now showing up correctly
– Fixed weird lighting behavior when bonus multiplier increased
– Double danger mystery award now cycles properly
– Fixed issue where match was not always flashing the numeric displays upon awarding
– Ballsave now activates at the proper time when awarded by mystery and start reactor is stacked along with mystery mode
– Failed ball lock attempts will no longer mess up the locking procedure under rare set of conditions
– Logging now shows errors only

Going forward, the code updates and changelog will be posted here and at www.spookypinball.com. As always, please let me know if you encounter any issues with your software and I will look into a fix for the next release. Thank you!!

The time has come. I invited over a few buddies and we got a gameplay video of my current code set. The code is still very early and the video camera recorded on a setting from the year 1990 (sorry about that). 🙂

Hey Everyone,The newest version is here! Version 1.7.2 is a minor update with some cool fixes and updates. I have created a heatmap on the standing breakout window that looks really good. I have also added the ability to customize the size of the font on the breakout window as well.

The formal online user guide is updated with the new settings. You can access it directly from the site or through the help menu in the Application itself.

As always, your feedback is very important to me, so let me know if you have any suggestions of find anything wrong with the software.

Hey Everyone,
The newest version is here! Version 1.7.1 is a small update with some important fixes. This version addresses some of the bugs that you guys have found and a few UI tweaks that you will probably not notice. 🙂

The most exciting part of this release is the creation of a formal online user guide! You can access it directly from the site or through the help menu in the Application itself.

As always, your feedback is very important to me, so let me know if you have any suggestions of find anything wrong with the software.

It is finally here! I have been working on creating an Arcade Tournament Manager online user guide for a while now and finally completed the first version. This user guide has detail about what every function does in the application and how to use it effectively. I have also included a “Tournament Best Practices” section at the end.

I am definitely open to feedback on content. If you would like to submit any added information, please feel free to contact me.

Hey Everyone,
The newest version is here! Version 1.7.0 is a pretty big release. We have added many new features and fixed all of the bugs that have been reported. This version is solid, but we would still love to hear your feedback on new features, enhancements, and bugs that you may find.

New Features

Bug Fixes

Options section overhaul (again, sorry)

Ability to display marquee data by overall player rank or current leaders of each machine/event

Ability to choose how many positions to show in the marquee data for player rank (1st – 8th place)

All Files now get written to a folder in your documents to eliminate the need to run the application “as administrator” in Windows 7 and 8.

Payout options now show on the “Standings” tab for tournament administrators

So I have been getting a few questions about how to properly connect an LED sign to my tournament software. It is actually pretty simple and I will walk you through it below.

Supported Displays:

First things first, let’s talk about supported displays. Currently, I have only tested the software with my BetaBrite 213C and my Alpha 220C. These are some of the most common signs you can find that are affordable. The BetaBrite signs also came included in the Tournament TOPS Kits from Stern Pinball. I plan on testing other types and brands very soon.

Display Connection:

This diagram illustrates the display connection to your PC

These signs use a serial (aka. RS-232 or DB9) connection to your PC. This type of connection is now very uncommon and is most likely not included on that nice new laptop you bought. Don’t worry though, many products still use this protocol and there are USB to Serial Adapters available for cheap. I would recommend getting a USB to Serial adapter with the FTDI Chipset as I have not tested any other type. If you are lucky enough to have a serial connection on your PC then this is not a problem. I still like to use the USB to Serial adapter since it will also extend the range of the cable that came with your display.

BetaBrite Serial Display Cable

Speaking of which, you should have received a cable with your display that has a serial connection on one end and a network type plug on the other. If you do not have this cable, don’t worry as they are inexpensive and can be found on eBay.

Once you have all the necessary cables you will need to hook them together and power up the display.

Configuration:

Configuring the sign to work with the software is probably the easiest part. The one thing you will need to know is what “COM Port” number that your serial connection is set to. This is a whole number that is usually under 10. You can find this number by going to your control panel in windows and selecting Device Manager. Your serial port will be listed under the “Ports” section and have the COM Port displayed in the title.

Once you have this port number, you can now open up the Tournament Manager application. At this point be sure that your display is connected properly and powered on. Click on the options tab and then click on the BetaBrite Options tab. First select the COM port for your serial connection and then check the “Primary Display Output Enabled” checkbox.

Your display should show the test message! From here you can setup a “Standby” message that will display on the BetaBrite while you are setting up the tournament. You can use it to say when the tournament is starting and how much it costs to enter or whatever you want. 🙂